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Lad være med at smide skrald på gulvet, så huset forbliver ryddeligt.

Lad være med at smide skrald på gulvet, så huset forbliver ryddeligt.
Don’t throw trash on the floor, so the house stays tidy.
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Questions & Answers about Lad være med at smide skrald på gulvet, så huset forbliver ryddeligt.

Why does the sentence start with Lad være med at …? Is that just the Danish way to say Don’t …?

Yes. Lad være med at + infinitive is a very common way to tell someone not to do something (or to stop doing it).

  • Lad is an imperative form of lade (let/allow).
  • The whole expression lad være (med at) functions idiomatically as don’t / refrain from. It often sounds a bit more “instruction-like” than a plain negative imperative, but it’s extremely common in everyday Danish.
Do I always need med in Lad være med at …?

In practice, you’ll most often see lad være med at + verb in modern Danish.
You can sometimes hear/see a shorter lad være at + verb, but med is the safe, standard choice for learners:

  • Lad være med at smide … = Don’t throw … So: treat med as part of the fixed pattern.
Why is it at smide and not something like at smider?

Because after at Danish uses the infinitive form of the verb.

  • Infinitive: smide
  • Present tense: smider So at smide is grammatically the same kind of structure as English to throw.
Is smide the best verb here? What’s the nuance compared to other verbs?

Smide commonly means to throw / to toss / to chuck, often with a casual or slightly careless feel. Depending on context, you might also see:

  • kaste = to throw (more neutral/physical “throw”)
  • smide ud = to throw out (dispose of) In a “don’t litter” type instruction, smide skrald sounds very natural.
What exactly is skrald grammatically—countable or uncountable?

Skrald is usually treated like an uncountable/mass noun (like trash/garbage in English):

  • smide skrald = throw trash (no article needed) You can make it more countable with something like:
  • et stykke skrald = a piece of trash
    But the base form skrald is most common.
Why is it på gulvet (definite) rather than på et gulv?

Danish often uses the definite form when referring to a specific, understood place in the situation (like “the floor here”).

  • på gulvet = on the floor (the relevant floor)
  • på et gulv = on a floor (some floor, not specific) In a house context, gulvet is the natural choice.
Why is there a comma before så?

Because så here links two clauses: 1) Lad være med at smide skrald på gulvet (instruction)
2) så huset forbliver ryddeligt (result/purpose) Danish punctuation commonly places a comma before clause-linking words like så in this kind of structure.

Does så here mean then or so (that)?

Here så means so (that) / so that as a result (result/purpose).
It can also mean then in other contexts, but with a clause like så huset forbliver …, it’s the “so that/so” meaning:

  • Do X, so (that) Y happens.
Why is the word order så huset forbliver … and not something like så forbliver huset …?

Because så here behaves like a conjunction introducing a following clause with normal word order:

  • så + subject + verb: så huset forbliver … If you instead start a new main clause with an adverbial (like så meaning “then”), Danish often uses V2/inversion:
  • Så forbliver huset ryddeligt = Then the house stays tidy
    But that’s a different structure/meaning. In your sentence, så is linking clauses and keeps subject-first order.
What does forbliver mean, and why is it in present tense?

Forbliver is present tense of forblive = to remain / to stay (in a state). It’s present tense because it states the general consequence/result:

  • huset forbliver ryddeligt = the house stays/remains tidy
    You could also see bliver (becomes) in other sentences, but forbliver emphasizes continuing to be tidy.
Why is it ryddeligt and not ryddelig?

Because ryddeligt agrees with huset, and hus is a neuter noun (et hus).
Adjectives in Danish take -t in the neuter singular:

  • en ryddelig bolig (common gender)
  • et ryddeligt hus (neuter)
    So ryddeligt matches huset.
Could I also say Smid ikke skrald på gulvet … instead of Lad være med at …?

Yes, and it’s very common:

  • Smid ikke skrald på gulvet = Don’t throw trash on the floor
    Compared to Lad være med at smide …:
  • Smid ikke … feels more direct/short.
  • Lad være med at … can feel a touch more “parent/teacher-ish” or like “don’t go doing that / stop doing that,” but both are normal Danish.